Down Memory Lane for May 1

Oct. 18, 1973

A body, almost completely decomposed, was discovered by a hiker Monday at the edge of Shenandoah National Park above Sperryville. An examination indicated the person had been shot in the head; a pistol lay nearby. According to park officials, the body was taken from Bradley Funeral Home in Luray to the medical center in Falls Church for further examination of what could be murder, suicide or accidental death. Park ranger Robert Johnson stated that at this time it appears that the body is connected with a vehicle reported abandoned on Route 600 and which was moved Sept. 18 under the authority of Trooper R.A. Baines and stored at Estes Truck Sales in Sperryville.

Intervale Sweet Thing, a foxhound owned by W.H. Lyne of Washington made a clean sweep of honors in the Virginia State Foxhunter bench show and field trials held during the weekend in Culpeper. She was the high score hound the first day in the all age and derby in a field of 352. Taking first place in three out of four of the field classes — hunting, speed and drive, and endurance — she was the high general average winner with the highest total score derby hound (under two years) and derby combination winner.

Montejurra, home of Mr. and Mrs. Brent Bozell at Huntly, is among the homes open for the annual Tour and Dried Flower Arrangement Sale this weekend. Tea will be served here both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Hours for the tour sponsored by the Episcopal Churchwomen of Bromfield Parish are 11 to 5 Saturday (Oct. 20) and 1 to 5 Sunday (Oct 21).

Aug. 5, 1982

Mr. Stant Weaver has three large garden plots at his home in Washington, growing corn, lima beans, tomatoes, string beans and melons. It doesn’t take long for a visitor to see an unusual plant tucked in among the vegetables. Mr. Weaver is also growing boxwoods, both American and Old English. He cuts sprigs from the end of the branches in the spring, sets them to root in a shady, damp place and waits several months. When the branches are well-rooted, Weaver transplants them again, to rows in his vegetables garden, where he waters them from time to time and waits until they are of a size to put in their permanent homes.

For those Rappahannock cooks and canners who do not raise their own fruit, Geneva Burke of Burke’s fruit stand on U.S. 211 has some pointers on selecting the best fruit for canning. “Most folks pick large freestone peaches for canning,” Burke said, “We sell a lot of the yellow peaches for canning, as well.” Burke recommends selecting firm peaches that are not overripe for canning in syrup. “When you select a watermelon, thump it,” she aid. “Watermelons should sound like they’re full of water. Then you know that they’re ripe and sweet.”

Florence Williamson, the “herb lady” of Woodville, has rows and rows of herbs alternating with her vegetables and perennials, their mute, soft colors providing rest for the eye and soft landing for the bees. Over the years, Mrs. Williamson has cut back some of her herb production to make room for the flowers she grows for the Trinity Episcopal Church flower sale in the fall. But she maintains enough herbs to use in seasoning and teas to preserve for the winter, and to use in her latest project — a cookbook using herbs to substitute some of the flavor lost in diets using little salt, fat or sugar.

June 11, 1992

Earl F. Clanagan has been a construction worker all of his adult life. He now has something to show for it. The Rappahannock County native just completed 520 hours of constructed training to certify as a pipe layer-drainage worker. He currently works for L.F. Franklin and Sons Inc., of Stephenson, as a construction worker on the U.S. 211 widening project west of Washington. The Federal Highway Administration-approved program, through which Mr. Clanagan obtained his trade classification, is a joint effort of the contractor and VDOT.

The high school received a bomb threat Monday just as students were preparing to go into class for a study session before their afternoon exams. Principal John Toth said an office secretary received the call. Toth said the caller sounded like a young female. The caller told the secretary, according to Toth, that there was a bomb in the school, and hung up. Mr. Toth contacted the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office. He said students and teachers were then told to take their materials for the study session and go outside the building.

Ray Scherer, a former White House correspondent for NBC News, will be the featured speaker of a “Book and Author” evening, sponsored by the Rappahannock County Library, at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 26. Mr. Scherer is co-author, along with Robert J. Donovan, of the new book “Unsilent Revolution: Television News and American Public Life,” published by Cambridge University Press. A Rappahannock resident since 1975, Mr. Scherer will speak on the rigors of covering presidents for TV, as well as on how electronic journalism has transformed American politics. He was a White House correspondent for NBC during the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

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